Two seats are open on village council in New Richmond, and incumbent Jack Conners, Ernest Smith, Paul Vanderbosch, Amanda Davidson and Richard Feldkamp are all trying to secure a spot.

“I felt I did a good job the last four years,” incumbent Jack Conners said. “I feel that I help the people, and make decisions I think are right for them.”

Conners has lived in the village since 1952. He graduated from New Richmond High School and served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. He operates a towing business in the village and has served many of the residents.

“I feel the people in the town know who I am,” Conners said. “I feel I will do my best for the people if they want me back.”

Conners said looking forward, financial issues will be the biggest challenge. He said council will have to handle things as they happen because there is no set figure of what they will bring in and what they will lose.

“We’re going to have to play it by ear and see what is best for the village as we go,” Conners said. “Things are changing by the day.”

Ernest Smith, a former council member, decided to run again this year because he feels that changes need to be made in the village, especially when it comes to finances.

“I look forward to being on council so I can inform the public and challenge tax increases and levies,” Smith said.

Smith has lived in the village for 46 years. He said he has raised his children here and wants to help raise his grandchildren here. He said improving the village is important and council needs to plan ahead, especially for financial losses.

“We are going to be losing our money down at Beckjord,” Smith said. “And this town is not prepared for it.”

He said if he were elected, he would look at the budget and see where the village is spending money and how they can save money.

“We have got to go in there and find the fat in the village,” Smith said. “If we have any waste we have to cut it.”

Paul Vanderbosch is relatively new to New Richmond, having moved here in 2004. He decided to run for council because he sees potential in the village if changes can be made.

“As I have been going around knocking on doors,” Vanderbosch said. “People are not happy about the government.”

He said one of his goal if elected would be to get residents more involved in what is going on, whether it be council meetings or events in the village.

“I want to have a quarterly meeting that residents can come to and ask questions,” Vanderbosch said. “I’m willing to publish my phone number, and everything else.”

Vanderbosch said when it comes to improving the village and handling the budget, he would like to find out what priority areas need improvement in the village. He said taking an inventory of the roads, and assessing which improvements need to be made first will help.

“I think the village has a lot of potential,” he said. “We need to think differently than we have been thinking.”

Amanda Davidson, another long-time resident of New Richmond, is running for council with a similar idea of changing the thought process.

“I want to do my part to protect and improve the quality of life in New Richmond,” Davidson said. “I want to run for council to provide a fresh perspective to some of the challenges that face New Richmond every year.”

Davidson graduated from New Richmond High School and was one of many in her family to do so. She said she loves the history of New Richmond, and enjoys that her family has history there.

When it comes to improving the village, Davidson said playing off the village’s strengths is crucial.

“I believe New Richmond’s strength is from the loyalty of the citizens,” she said. “We need to use that to decide how to take care of our (citizens), attract new residents and figure out ‘how do we grow?’”

She said if elected, she would come to the table with an open mind about issues the village faces. And once a plan has been decided, she said she will work to see it through to the end.

The last council candidate is Richard Feldkamp, a resident of the village who is already active in making it a better place.

“I am a lifelong resident of New Richmond,” Feldkamp said. “I’ve been involved in fire and EMS for 45 years as well as RiverDays for a number of years.”

He said now that he is retired, he can devote even more time to the community, which is why he decided to run for council.

Feldkamp said in the near future the village is going to have to deal with the closing of Beckjord Station and will also have to find a way to improve the streets. But when it comes to finding the best solutions for these problems he said communication needs to be improved first.

“It gets kind of hard to get the people to recognize what’s happening if they don’t attend these special meetings the government has put forward. All I can do is hope my voice will be heard and people can understand the position we are really in.”